Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE)

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors acquired 96,142 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 293% compared to the average daily volume of 24,443 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HPE shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $27.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.88.

More Hewlett Packard Enterprise News

Here are the key news stories impacting Hewlett Packard Enterprise this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HPE is getting a lift from a broader rally in AI and server-related names after Dell’s strong first-quarter results pointed to robust demand for AI infrastructure, which has helped boost sentiment for peers like HPE. Stock Market Today, May 29: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Surges After Dell AI Server Results Spark Sector Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Heavy call-option buying suggests traders are positioning for more upside, with unusually large bullish activity signaling rising speculation ahead of earnings. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (HPE) Shares Surge 12.6% — What GF Score of 76 Tells Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market chatter are focused on HPE’s upcoming quarterly results, with expectations centered on whether the company can show continued AI-related strength and guide positively. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Q2 earnings on deck: What to expect
• Neutral Sentiment: HPE also announced an expanded partnership with Rowan University to support research and campus technology initiatives, a positive strategic development but not an immediate stock-moving catalyst. HPE and Rowan University Expand Partnership to Accelerate Research and Strengthen Student Workforce Readiness
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary noting HPE’s recent surge and strong momentum supports the view that investors are re-rating the stock higher ahead of earnings, but it does not add a new fundamental catalyst on its own. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) stock trades up, here is why

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Up 12.7%

Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock opened at $43.07 on Friday. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 52-week low of $17.02 and a 52-week high of $44.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.73 and a 200 day moving average of $24.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $57.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -226.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 9th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.06. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a negative net margin of 0.41% and a positive return on equity of 9.93%. The company had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.300-2.500 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.510-0.550 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hewlett Packard Enterprise will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 24th were paid a $0.1425 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 24th. This represents a $0.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s payout ratio is currently -300.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In other Hewlett Packard Enterprise news, CFO Marie Myers sold 93,583 shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total transaction of $2,808,425.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 204,754 shares in the company, valued at $6,144,667.54. This trade represents a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Antonio F. Neri sold 150,000 shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total transaction of $3,975,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,687,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,714,218.50. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 702,402 shares of company stock valued at $18,440,171. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the first quarter worth approximately $1,660,000. Essential Partners LLC lifted its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 1.6% in the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 28,100 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $669,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Ariadne Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the first quarter worth approximately $211,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 586.9% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 58,044 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,382,000 after acquiring an additional 49,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bull Harbor Capital LLC purchased a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the first quarter worth approximately $253,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.78% of the company’s stock.

About Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is an enterprise technology company that designs, develops and sells IT infrastructure, software and services for business and government customers. Its core offerings span servers, storage, networking, and related software, together with consulting, integration and support services aimed at modernizing and managing enterprise IT environments. HPE’s product portfolio includes systems for traditional data centers as well as solutions for high-performance computing, edge computing and telecommunications infrastructure.

A major focus for HPE is hybrid cloud and consumption-based IT.